SCOTLAND’S busiest ­shopping area is awash with drug-dealing junkies plying their trade under the noses of police.

A Daily Record investigation has ­discovered dealers are flocking to Glasgow’s upmarket ­Style Mile to sell heroin just feet away from shoppers.

Up to 100 dealers operate from the area at one time. They prey on homeless drug addicts begging on the street and sell to people who pay for their habit through shoplifting.

One plain clothes officer who works in the city said the situation on the Style Mile – made up of the “Golden Z” of Argyle Street, Buchanan Street and ­Sauchiehall Street – is “the worst in living memory”.

Our investigator was escorted by a young heroin user along the Style Mile and streets adjacent just days after police were credited with “smashing” a street dealers ring that grips the city centre.

Business owners in the swanky addresses, particularly around Royal Exchange Square, George Square, Central Station and Buchanan Street, have been furious at the way police have allowed the trade to grow.

We observed dealers in tracksuits and hoodies rubbing shoulders with shoppers as Christmas approaches. And we listened as dealers argued among themselves and threatened to “plunge” rivals in loud mobile phone calls, despite being aware of multiple police CCTV cameras filming overhead.

The day after the supposed police blitz on drugs last week, our investigator was approached by seven dealers within five minutes as he walked 650ft between Gordon Street and the prestigious Gallery of Modern Art building on Royal Exchange Square.

The source said the festive boom means massive trade for the drug dealers.

He said: “The drug dealers follow the money, simple as that. The shoppers flock into the city at Christmas and that’s when you see a rise in the dealers anyway, as street beggars from other areas all gravitate to where the big shopping stampede is.

“Shoppers have the money and they pass it down to the homeless addicts – and most of it ends up with the heroin dealers. It’s tragic.

“There are charities working in the city to help feed and clothe the homeless but drug sharks lure them away from anything that might improve their lives.

“Dealers put tenner bags in their mouths prior to the deal, telling customers to pop the bag into their own mouths, with both parties ready to swallow them if they get busted. This isn’t hash – it’s the lowest of the low and feeds off utter misery.

“The dealers vary from those who sell a few bags to fund their own habit to those putting people on the street to sell more than 100 tenner bags a day.

“Glasgow city centre is covered by CCTV cameras but the dealers don’t care because getting busted is an occupational hazard. I know some guys who do their stretch in jail and then just start again.”

The trade in drugs has grown along Buchanan Street. (Image: Phil Dye)

The source said dealers have recently started flocking together in gangs.

He said: “I’ve never seen them cluster like that. It’s like a herd of wildebeest on a plain when they reckon a lion is lurking. They reckon if the pro-actives (undercover police) pounce, they can’t bust all of them.”

The Record has observed the situation for several weeks, during which time police took a local paper on two days of raids, which resulted in eight arrests, including just two for drug dealing.

Just a day after those Operation Woodrich arrests – acclaimed as “smashing the drug gang” – we watched dealers gather in Royal Exchange Square.

They spotted regulars on the street and arranged the deal, regardless of who was watching. The handover would happen there or in alleyways just feet away.

One deal our photographer caught on camera was staged on the steps at the rear of the Gallery of Modern Art, a dealing hotspot. Other deals commonly take place by the Duke of Wellington statue.

Another heroin deal took place minutes earlier when a rendezvous on Buchanan Street led to a handover in a dingy lane off Gordon Street.

He said: “There’s always a show of strength at Christmas but they have let it get out of control this year. When there is bad publicity it usually brings a short-term crackdown. They’ve got their work cut out this year.”

A police source confirmed the ­situation was getting out of control.

He said: “Dealers are getting busted but there are so many they just keep lining up again. It’s accepted there need to be more officers assigned to this.”

Outreach worker Roy Lees, of the Teen Challenge charity, said: “Where there’s heroin addiction there’s homelessness. It’s a vicious circle. You get the dealers preying on those who need heroin to get through the day.”

Police insisted yesterday they are cracking down hard on drug pushers.

“Local officers, supported by specialist resources from across Police Scotland, have proactively been targeting drug dealers across the area, resulting in a significant amount of controlled drugs being removed from local communities and a number of people arrested and charged.”